Marquette University Athletics
Women's Basketball Advances to C-USA Semifinals
3/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Recap | Box Score
Recap and Box Score in PDF format.
FORT WORTH, Texas - In their first two meetings this season DePaul and Marquette had a pair of games decided by a total of three points, with each team winning on their home floor. The third meeting would take place on a neutral court but the competitiveness would remain the same. The Golden Eagles won for the second time in six days over the Blue Demons, 74-70, to advance to the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.
Charlene Smith's layup with 2:20 to go would give the Blue Demons their final lead of the afternoon at 66-65. Marquette would answer on its next down the floor, with Crystal Weaver nailing a jump shot. After a Sarah Kustok miss at the other end of the floor, MU's Katie O'Grady would sink a pair of free throws to extend the Golden Eagles lead to 69-66.
With 43 seconds remaining, Charlene Smith would cut the deficit to 69-68 on a layup. But, 18 seconds later, Carolyn Kieger would answer with a 15-foot jumper to push the lead back to three at 71-68. After a Smith miss, Christina Quaye was fouled and drilled both free throws. Jenni Dant would hit a bucket with eight seconds remaining before Kieger added a final free throw to end the scoring.
Kieger scored 16 points and dished out nine assists for the Golden Eagles, while Katie O'Grady led MU with 17 points. As a team, Marquette shot 54 percent from the field, knocking down 27 of 50 shot attempts.
Four DePaul players scored in double figures, led by Charlene Smith with 18. Ashley Luke added 16 points and Jenni Dant chipped in 15 for the Blue Demons, who drop to 22-6 on the season.
Marquette raises its record to 21-8 as it prepares to face Houston in the semifinals. UH won the first meeting between the teams this season, 77-64, on Feb. 22.
GAME NOTES: The three games between DePaul and Marquette this season were decided by a total of seven points....This is the fourth consecutive year that the No. 4 seed in the tournament has lost in the quarterfinals....Marquette is 2-0 in the C-USA Tournament against DePaul ... Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell won her 150th career game with this win.
